Adios!

Time to wrap up the Argentina blog! I left on Dec. 22nd (...a day later than planned because apparently they've gotten REALLY strict on luggage weight...and I'm rather attached to the mound of souvenirs I bought. Plus, apparently you need a flight leaving a country in order to enter it...who knew?! So with all the hassle we missed our flight and had to re-book for the next day- VERY stressful.) But anyways, we made is safely to Trinidad and I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with Nakita's family, and I even got to open presents on Christmas morning with my family in Minnesota via Skype! To read about my 2 months here in Trinidad and Tobago and my new adventure in Guatemala, follow my new blog at www.linds2guatemala.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading!

Top 10 Defining Experiences of Backpacking Argentina

1. Whale Watching

In Puerto Madryn, we spent one day on a boat tour with about 30 other tourists in bright orange life jackets searching for whales. We were very lucky, as the day was sunny, warm and we got to see a few whales. We even got to see a 'mama' whale with her calf- but this baby was especially rare because it was white, unlike it's gray mother. We learned that this baby wasn't albino, but had a rare genetic disorder that made him temporarily white, but that he would fade to gray by the time he matured. No matter what the color, all the whales had the same 'jaw-dropping' effect...seeing a gigantic (50-60 ft. long!) whale surface right next to the boat, hearing it's blow hole, and feeling the mist from the splash of it's tail...pretty epic.

2. Sea Lions/Kayaking

Also in Puerto Madryn, we spent a morning sea kayaking with about 6 other tourists and 2 guides. Again we got really lucky with the weather- gentle breeze, cloudless blue sky, and calm seas. We paddled near 2 sea lion colonies, and as we approached we heard them barking and calling to us. A few even swam out to meet us. With their curious little whiskers right above the surface, circling our boat and popping up here and there...it reminded me of the movie "Andre".

3. Bus rides

I can't really say that all the long bus rides were a 'high-light' of the trip, but you have to understand the shear volume of of time we spent on bus rides criss-crossing Patagonia. The longest bus ride we ever did was 26 hrs., and so you can see why we begin to think of 8 hr. rides as 'nothing', haha. But the bus trips actually weren't all so bad- we got to see a lot of the country side, and the buses themselves were quite comfortable (think first class on an airplane.) Yep, all the seats reclined, we got meals (think airplane food but slightly better), and got to watch movies. We also kept busy by planing cribbage, reading, writing, and listening to music.

4. Glacier Hike

When someone asks me for my all-time favorite moment in Argentina, I usually tell them about the hike to (and on) Glacier Viedma, near El Chalten in south western Patagonia. This 12 hour (yes 12 hours!) hike lead us through some of the most diverse and amazing scenery I have ever seen. We hiked through forest and valley, over hills and through meadows. We even got to cross a river via zip-line! But the coolest part of this hike was of course, the glacier. The glacier is a HUGE mass of ice, snow, and rocks. It looked like a giant cascade of water had gushed from between the mountains and been frozen to a stop half-way through the valley. But in reality, the glacier formed very slowly over many centuries, and it is still changing and moving, growing and recessing. You can attest to this movement because the glacier makes lots of eery sounds as it cracks and shifts. Once on the glacier, we got to hike along its ridges; it's not flat on top, but rather like a series of balance beams (4-16 inches wide), with deep blue gorges on either side. We also found an ice wall, which we got to climb with pick axes for our hands and crampons on our feet. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch on the glacier, and then hiked back to town. Needless to say, we were quite exhausted and slept for nearly 14 hours that night.

5. Seven Lakes Drive

Near Bariloche, there is a famous highway that winds around some of the most breath-taking landscapes in patagonia. So we rented a car with some girls from our hostel, and hit the road. Unfortunately, we had rain that day, but it let up in the afternoon and we got to experience the true beauty of the area. Each lake is bright blue, lined with bright yellow poppies and purple lilacs, and the snow-capped mountains make the perfect backdrop. I felt like I had fallen into a calendar of Switzerland. Simply lovely.

6. El Bolson and Around

On of my favorite places in Patagonia was the 'hippie-town' of El Bolson. It was one of the few places in Argentina where they actually had recycling, and the population had fought to keep big developers and chain stores out of the city. They also had one of the best Saturday markets- you could buy everything from wind chimes to beer to mittens to jams to veggie pizza- and nearly all of it was organic/homemade! We also loved our hostel here- it was a little wooden house in the countryside with hammocks on the porch and a wood-burning stove in the kitchen. Also near El Bolson, was the 'Sculpture Forest'- which is a a collection of chainsaw tree sculpture on the mountainside. The area of the sculptures had a forest fire years ago, but instead of clearing the all the trees, they left some for local artists to carve. Now the forest is an international legend, displaying everything from elves to indian women to robots to human hands- all carved from trees! We were there on a day when the artists were actually carving, so we got to see the art in action! And the view from up there- just stunning! I don't think I've ever had such a view for a picnic lunch. Also near the town were a few lakes, similar to the ones near Bariloche. So we spent a few days on the beaches- playing frisbee, writing, and wading in the chilly water. And to top it all off, El Bolson hosted an international jazz festival while we were there! All in all, we actually loved El Bolson so much, that we ended up staying 7 days here instead of our originally planned 3!

7. Cordoba

This city is located in north central Argentina, and it's the 'cultural capital' of South America. Here we visited lots of churches and museums. We also hit up an awesome market with the BEST calzones I've ever tasted, mmmm.

8. Mendoza

This city is the capital of wine tourism in Argentina. The highlight of our stay here was a bike tour of all the local vineyards. We linked up with some of our guy friends from the hostel and biked all through the countryside- tasting lots of wine, some chocolate, a few jams, and even some beer too. It was a very happy day.

9. Digging for Dinosaur Bones

En route back to Buenos Aires, we stopped at the dessert city of Neuquen. This dusty town isn't really much for show- but we weren't here for the city anyways. We signed up for a day of 'digging dinosaur bones' at a nearby excavation site- and it turned out to be legit! We left really early in the morning, drove to the site, and toured the museum and work shop. Then we got to spend most of the day digging in the dirt with little scalpels, picks, and paintbrushes. It was like my childhood dream of becoming an archeologist had come true! We dug up lots of bone fragments, as well as a few raptor teeth! We even got to help out in the lab afterwards- we fitted and glued back together broken bones and turtle shells- each of which was millions of years old. IT WAS SO AWESOME. We found out later that this is the ONLY excavation site in the world open to the public...very cool.

10. My Travel Buddy

Throughout all of our travels, we met some pretty amazing people along the way. We got to keep company with travelers from all over the world, and people from all walks of life. But one person I'm truly thankful for is my travel buddy and best friend, Nakita. Even though she always made me sleep on the top bunk and do all the dishes (don't worry, she did ALL the cooking), I don't think I could have been blessed with a better travel partner. She kept a level head when I freaked out, and she kept me organized when I forgot what the word organization means. She was my partner in crime, my leader, my follower, and my best friend. I don't think I would have been able to have all the amazing experiences that I did if she hadn't been there with me through it all. So to her, I am eternally grateful.

So Long Overdue...

I realize I haven't written a blog post in AGES, and so this is GROSSLY over due. I'm very sorry for not having written in so long...I just got behind and then it snow-balled. I got caught up in the beauty of Patagonia, and sitting down to blog just kept getting put off...and off and off and off. It still seems overwhelming to sit down and try to summarize 6 weeks of traveling through some of the most amazing places on Earth. So, as a compromise, I have decided to make one final blog post, with ten short stories describing the most amazing moments during my travels. Enjoy ;)

Life at an Ashram

After leaving Buenos Aires, we spent 10 days living at an Ashram in the small town of General Rodriguez, which is about an hour outside of the city. We kept a simple schedule of garden work, eating, meditating, and doing yoga...I wrote the following in my notebook during my time there:

This life is simple…and straightforward. We work, we eat, we mediate and we do some yoga.

On the work…I try to assign goals to my work, or make it a game. “Lets see if I can weed this patch in 3 minutes…” or “How many weeds are in this row?...winner gets a drink of water!” These mind games keep me somewhat focused.

On the food…the kitchen is ‘spiritually clean’, if not quite ‘actually clean’. I was really grossed out by the flies at first. But I haven’t died, or gotten sick. I suppose it’s making my immune system stronger.

On meditation…quite frustrating. I find that it doesn’t ‘still my mind’, but only gives me an opportunity to think about EVERYTHING. And in no particular or practical order. My mind is like that monkey swinging in the tree…from branch to branch to branch, oh wait- look a leaf!, then another branch, eat a bug, branch, do a flip, another branch, so on and so forth…I suppose that’s the challenge in it. I think I need more practice. Maybe I’ll like it when I’m older…like vegetables.

On yoga…Yoga is okay. Sometimes my back hurts, and sometimes I feel quite un-flexible; like a piece of toast in a room full of pretzels. Oh well, I do like the part when we lay on the floor at the end of class.

But I think what I really like about this place is the space. It’s so uncomplicated and minimalistic that suddenly there is time to think, to feel, to reminisce, to sort out. Yet I seem to have gotten little ‘productive thinking’ done. I feel like I can’t really relax and take it all in, since I’ve got all this stress I’m carrying around with law school applications. But maybe it’s important to make a distinction between relaxing thought and productive thought. I think I’ve come to realize that this isn’t really the place for ‘productive thought’, at least how I would define it. True productivity would be writing an excellent personal statement, securing 2-3 letters of recommendation, filling out applications, etc. But of course, none of that has begun. But then again, maybe it doesn’t need to. Like my friend Nikki said yesterday “don’t worry about what you haven’t done, just focus on what you can do.” I think the purpose of this place isn’t to be productive, but to take away a certain understanding. To realize the need for moderation- in consumption and in thought-, For simple tasks, quiet space, and a peaceful mind. A space for mindfulness and calm-tranquilo.

The Cabo Polonia Orchestra

Never have I been in a place that is so silent and so deafening at the same time. Life here is quiet. Vegetation is sparse, and people are sparser. The wind, however, is constant. Frightfully forceful. Fearfully ferocious. This wind tries to fill the void left by the absence of voices, cars, and general commotion…but instead it only whips across the wide beach, around the whitewashed shacks, and away to the endless, sugary dunes. The locals occasionally accompany the wind with drums, gourd string instruments, and bare feet dancing on sand. The sea lions' solo is ones of whoops and barks, echoing off the mossy rocks. And the lighthouse keeps time with its constant, steady spin. Some would call this place barren, desolate, or empty. But if you stay awhile, swinging in a hammock on the porch, you can truly appreciate the symphony of sounds.

Along the Coast of Uruguay

After Iguazu, we decided to explore the often forgotten little country of Uruguay…and boy was it fantastic. If anyone wants to do a ‘South American vacation’, I would highly recommend Uruguay. It has so much diversity and culture, yet it is contained in a relatively small area- it was great! . Here is a brief summary of our wonderful trip through this country:

Day 1: We took a ferry from Bs. As., across the Rio Plata, and landed in Colonia after only 1 hour. This waterfront city looked like it was straight out of the colonial era (hence, the name.) The cobblestone streets, old churches, and city gate (complete with moat and drawbridge) really made this entire city seem like a postcard. We spent the day exploring the city, and taking lots of pictures. For dinner we had some delicious seafood paella, but the best part was that we ate in an old-fashioned car! It looked kind of like an old Model-T, except the inside had been gutted and replaced with a table and floor pillows.- pretty cool.

Day 2: We took a bus to the capital, Montevideo. We rented antique red bikes (complete with wicker baskets) and biked around the historic city center and along the sea wall. It was a perfect day- bright sun shining, cloudless blue sky, breeze off the ocean…totally picturesque. That evening we bused onto Punta del Este, found our hostel, and settled in for the night.

Day 3: Today we rented scooters and motored around the city and surrounding areas. We went north and crossed a ‘wavy bridge’, which was literally like going on a roller coaster- fun! We visited a sweet museum (Museo del Mar) and saw giant whale skeletons, dolphin skeletons, lots of shells, some big turtle shells, and a pirate exhibit too! It was a pretty amazing collection, considering it all belonged to just one guy! (He said he started collecting shells when he was little, and then ended up spending his whole life traveling the globe, snorkeling and scuba diving, amassing this incredible collection.) After the museum, we had ‘chivitos’ for lunch- a really yummy steak sandwich of sorts. After feasting we drove south of the city to “CasaPueblo” (you might have to Google image this one.) It’s an incredible house built by the artist Carlos Paez Vilaro. It was originally his home, and is now a museum and hotel. The structure is 9 levels, built right into the hillside- it’s painted all white and has no straight lines…kind of like a giant adobe castle. It was a fantastic place to watch the sunset on the ocean, which we did.

Day 4: Bused onto a little town called Cabo Polonio. We had intended to stay just for the day, but learned upon arrival that there were no more buses leaving that day…no choice but to stay over night! It’s hard to explain the remoteness of this town…our bus dropped us off literally in the middle of nowhere. There was a little ticket booth and a few trucks- that was it. We bought a ticket for a truck ride into town- this is the only way to get into town! We rode in the back of the truck through some forests, which gave way to huge sand dunes (no roads, only sandy paths!) and finally to the huge beach. In the distance, you could see some ‘houses clumped on the hill’. Turns out these houses are more like shacks, and there really isn’t much more to the town than that.- no internet, no electricity, no nothing…just LOTS of wind. As soon as we got off the truck, we were approached by a guy named “Pancho” (which means hotdog in Argentine slang, haha) who offered us a place to stay in his ‘hostel’- which turned out to be a bright orange shack right on the beach. “We’ll take it!” we said J After settling in, we explored the rocky shores, the lighthouse, and visited the sea lion colony (2^nd biggest in the world!) On the way back, we passed a group of ‘hippies’ (for lack of a better term) playing drums, gourd instruments, and dancing. They invited us to join in, and we did! We had a great time jamming and drinking mate with the locals, but after awhile we headed back to our hostel. That night we feasted on shark (tastes like chicken) and had crepes with dulce de leche for dessert- yum! And the stars that night were incredible…it felt like you could just reach out and touch them…

Day 5 & 6: Left Cabo Polonio and bused back to a small town called Nueva Helvetica, which is a small village with a very strong Swiss heritage. We stayed at a small country house/hostel called “El Galope”. We had intended to go horseback riding, but it was so incredibly windy that we decided to pass. Instead we got to brush and feed the horses. We also played with the dog (named Tupac), bottle fed the baby sheep (named Dorothy) and took a few nice walks in the countryside. We also tried ‘cow stomach’ for the first time…actually quite tasty. It was a really relaxing visit, and a nice ending to our Uruguay trip.

Day 7: Caught the ferry back to Bs. As., with a few souveniers and some awesome memories of an incredible little country J